Serena Williams says she had “so much fun” after making a winning return to competitive tennis in the doubles at Queen’s Club on Wednesday.
The 44-year-old had not played a competitive match since her third-round loss at the 2022 US Open, a result that left her one shy of the all-time record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles, shared by Margaret Court and Novak Djokovic.
At the time, Williams said she was not “retiring” but “evolving” away from tennis. Last week, she confirmed she would return ahead of Wimbledon later this month.
As part of her preparation for the Grand Slam, Williams teamed up with Victoria Mboko at Queen’s Club, and the pair defeated third seeds Erin Routliffe and Nicole Melichar-Martinez 7-6 (7-2), 6-2 in the opening round.
Williams said she felt nervous before stepping back onto the court, but chose to focus on enjoying the moment.
“I got nervous like, maybe 30 minutes before, and then I just let it go,” she said.
“I didn’t really think about being nervous, I thought about having fun, which I did.
“It was so fun. I had so much fun playing with Victoria.
“I never got to play here before, it was always just the men. It feels really special to play somewhere so iconic.”
Any doubts about whether Williams could still perform at elite level were quickly put to rest as she unleashed her trademark powerful serve and ferocious groundstrokes in front of a packed crowd.
The performance drew strong reactions across the tennis world.
“Serena Williams that is absurd. 44 years old. Reflexes look better than ever,” popular X account The Tennis Letter wrote.
“After watching this performance, I will be SHOCKED if Serena Williams doesn’t play singles at Wimbledon,” Jose Morgado said on X.
“Wow Serena Williams returns to Tennis today after an almost 4 year break at the age of 44 and along with Vicky Mkobo has just taken out the No 3 seeds at Queens. A historic comeback win,” Pavvy G added.
Despite the impressive win, Williams was not entirely happy with her own performance.
“Oh my god! What do you think? A C minus?,” she said when asked to rate it.
“All the elements, considering coming back on grass is probably not the easiest surface. On the grass, four years … Overall I think it was decent.”
Williams’ husband Alexis Ohanian and the couple’s two daughters, Olympia and Adira, were courtside in west London to watch her comeback.
Williams and Mboko will next face Leylah Fernandez and Laura Siegemund in the quarter-finals. She is also scheduled to play doubles at next week’s Berlin Open.
The pair are also expected to play together at Wimbledon after being granted a wildcard, although Williams says she has not yet made a final decision.
“Yeah, like I said the other day, it’s just a day at a time,” she said when asked if she would play Wimbledon doubles.
“I still have a little time to decide, and they (Wimbledon officials) have been great about giving me that space and time to decide.”
